The British Museum director and art world fixture Nicholas Cullinan has been caught on canvas by Elizabeth Peyton. The US artist’s evocative picture—Nick at home (London), 2025—marks Cullinan’s tenure as director of the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) in London (2015-24). “Peyton and Cullinan grew close whilst working on the artist’s retrospective Elizabeth Peyton: Aire and Angels held at the NPG in 2019-2020,” says an NPG statement. “For me the show I had at the NPG, Aire and Angels was a life highlight as well as the friendship that has grown after it,” Peyton added in a statement.
Peyton has donated the work to the NPG, ensuring that its former chief remains at the heart of the collection (the painting is on permanent display in Room 30). Alongside is a Kaye Donachie portrait of Erdem, the London-based, Canadian fashion designer. “I have always loved the extraordinary and strange beauty of [Donachie’s] work,” said the creative trailblazer. Cullinan also likes the work, exclaiming on Instagram: “So lovely to be next to you and [this] beautiful portrait!”